


Figure it Out

by planet_plantagenet



Category: Hamlet - Shakespeare
Genre: Airplanes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Coming Out, Crushes, Fluff, France (Country), Late Night Conversations, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 09:46:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8528350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planet_plantagenet/pseuds/planet_plantagenet
Summary: What if, instead of sending Reynaldo to France with Laertes, Polonius sent Osric?





	

“Osric?” I said, surprised. “Coming to France? With me? Why??”

Polonius shrugged, his expression aggravatingly noncommittal. “I just thought you needed a… um… a chaperone.”

I exhaled loudly. “Dad. I’m a college student. I don’t need a… chaperone.”  _ Especially one who’s two years younger than me. _

“Perhaps it would do you both some good.”

“Do me good? Hahah, that’s really funny, dad.”

He gave me a stern look. “Laertes, Osric is very excited about this trip. It’ll be a great chance for him. Besides, he looks up to you as a role model.”

I almost wanted to scream,  _ THAT’S BECAUSE HE’S BESOTTED WITH ME _ , but stayed quiet. If Polonius found out just how gay Osric was, he’d see to it that he was kicked out of the mansion. Just another reason why I wasn’t out to him.

Polonius seemed to take my silence as a kind of giving in, because he smiled and clapped me on the shoulder. “See, it isn’t that bad, is it?”

“I guess not,” I muttered.

*

Osric was eagerly waiting for me at the front of the airport, a huge grin on his face. He was carrying a small backpack, a rolling suitcase, and, of course, his omnipresent green-and-blue hat. I smiled, almost in spite of myself—he really did look legitimately excited.

“Looking forward to the flight?” he asked.

“I’m grateful it’s only two hours,” I replied.

He nodded solemnly. “Yeah, I’ve been known to throw up on airplanes. Not fun.” He shrugged, then he looked back at me and his grin returned. “But hey, we’ll get through it together!”

I forced a smile, trying to erase from my mind the image of Osric vomiting all over me.

*

About an half an hour later, Osric and I had probably been through every snack store in the airport. As per Osric’s assertion that we would get hungry during the flight, I’d reluctantly bought two chip packets, a salad, a sandwich, a chocolate bar, and a couple bags of fruit snacks. Meanwhile, Osric talked almost incessantly about the randomest things. A man with a bright red beanie prompted him to launch into a story about all the hats he’d owned before his current one. It was, in all honestly, incredibly tedious and boring—especially when we had passed through security and were simply waiting for the flight to start boarding.

After a while, however, Osric seemed to get the message that I wasn’t exactly listening to him, and he grew quiet. Then, perhaps after a minute of complete silence, he asked me, “So, um, would you like to tell a story now?”

The question caught me off-guard, and I put down the coffee I was drinking. “Uh… I don’t know? What would I tell it about?”

Osric grinned. “Maybe… tell me about how you first came out to Ophelia?”

I spat out my coffee, stared at him. “How the  _ hell _ do you know about that??”

His smile grew wider. “I… might have been stalking your tumblr.”

I was about to ask how he found my tumblr in the first place, but decided that there are some things better left unknown. “Well then. It’s not much of a story, actually. Basically… one day, me and Ophelia were sitting in her room, and she was like, ‘Hamlet is pretty cool; I’d totally date him,’ and I just said, ‘me too,’ and she sort of looked at me for a second, and then asked, ‘are you gay?’ and I was like… ‘yup.’ Then there was a kind of awkward silence, and she just started laughing, and I did too, and it was just really weird and funny.”

Osric was laughing now too, and somehow it sounded more genuine than any of his previously nervous giggles.

“So….” It couldn’t hurt to ask. “While we’re on the subject… how did you come out?”

Within a second, Osric went from smiling and bubbly to frozen and petrified. “How did you—”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Wait, you’re…?”

“Not out,” he whispered, finishing my sentence for me. “Not to anyone. How… how did you know?”

I didn’t know what to say. I could tell the truth, say that his feelings for me had been painfully obvious from the start. But that just didn’t feel right. “I, um… guess I just have a really good gaydar.”

Osric seemed to relax slightly. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Of course not.” I paused. “So, uh… are you gay, or bi, or…?”

“Gay….” He smiled suddenly. “Like you!”

I laughed. “I assume you figured out my sexuality by stalking my tumblr?”

He blushed. “Yeah….”

I was about to reply, but the airport staff announced that our flight had started boarding. Osric jumped up, and I followed him into the line, somewhat annoyed that our conversation had been cut off.

*

The flight was not as terrible as I’d feared. Osric didn’t throw up, thankfully—he spent most of the time listening to music off his phone. That was fine with me. The flight was just long enough to watch a couple Steven Universe episodes, so I did that, while Osric peered curiously at my laptop screen and ate both of our chip bags.

Once we’d landed, we picked up our bags and called an Uber to take us to the hotel where we’d spend the night. Osric was quieter than he’d been in the Danish airport—he spent a lot of the time gazing around at the buildings and scenery as we drove through Paris.

I started to realize I was glad to have a companion—without Osric, the trip would have been pretty mundane.

*

We got to the hotel at around 6:30; I checked us in using my relatively crappy French. I deposited our bags in our room while Osric did a search for restaurants in our area. He eventually found a well-reviewed Italian place, that was, fortunately, only a couple blocks from the hotel.

The streets in Paris were a lot more crowded than those in Denmark. Osric, looking a little overwhelmed, held my hand for most of the way there. I didn’t have the heart to protest. And besides, his smooth, warm hand felt good in mine.

We sat at a small table on the porch of the restaurant. After ordering a large pizza to share, the two of us sat in silence for a while.

“Osric?” I said after a minute.

He looked up from playing with his napkin, and I continued slowly.

“If I may ask… how long have you known your sexuality?”

It was a second before Osric said quietly: “A while. I’ve known since I was twelve.”

“And in all that time… you’ve never told anyone?”

He shook his head. “I… well, I didn’t really see it as important, exactly? I’ve never had a boyfriend. I’ve never had any reason to tell anyone. So I just sort of… kept it to myself.”

“Would you….” I stopped, chose my words carefully. “Do you want to come out?”

“No thank you.” Osric’s reply was instant. “I mean… honestly, I’m glad you know. I wouldn’t mind if Ophelia knew… she’s cool. Just not Polonius.”

I laughed, a sound that contained no mirth. “Believe me, I feel you. I guess he is my dad, but… well, he’s hella homophobic.”

“I figured,” Osric responded sadly.

There was another pause. Osric was looking down at his napkin. I reached out, took his hands across the table. This morning, I don’t think I could’ve imagined having this conversation with Osric. Now, I just felt a huge amount of empathy for him.

“I’m here for you, okay?”

He looked up at me, face glowing. “Thank you.”

*

As it turned out, there was only one bed in the hotel room. Osric looked delighted. I almost laughed—what a cliché.

“I could sleep on the couch?” I offered.

Osric shook his head fervently. “No no. We can share. It’s okay; I don’t mind.”

_ Of course you don’t mind, Osric; I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for months. _ But in all honesty, I didn’t mind either. “Alright. But don’t you dare steal the covers.”

“Of course I won’t!”

I grinned. “You’d better not.”

*

I didn’t go to sleep for a while; I had too much on my mind. I watched the huddled form of Osric next to me slowly rise up and down. I had some things to admit to myself. First of all, Osric was pretty cute. There was no denying that. Second of all, he wasn’t half as obnoxious as he appeared on the outside. Third, I was glad to be able to spend time with him.

I wasn’t sure exactly what my feelings towards Osric were, but they were definitely positive.

*

I awoke to the sound of heavy breathing, the shuddering kind of breath when you’re trying to keep yourself from crying. I opened my eyes, rolled over to face the shaking form next to me.

“Osric?” I whispered.

No response. I put a hand on his shoulder. The shaking seemed to subside slightly.

“Osric, talk to me.”

I sat up, pushing off the covers. Osric slowly lifted himself up as well, then looked at me. His face was stained with tears.

“What is it?” I breathed.

“I….” He took another breath. “I’m sorry, Laertes….”

“For what?” I put my hand on his shoulder again.

“Too many things.”

“Tell me.”

There was a pause. Then: “Polonius. He… he made me come.”

A chill went through me. “Polonius wanted you to come to France with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why…?”

Osric gulped. “To… well, I guess you could say… to spy on you….”

I slowly ran a hand through my hair. So that was Polonius’ motive. It made all too much sense. He’d always been overprotective.

“You aren’t going to tell him anything, are you?”

“Of course not!” Osric replied, shocked. “Well… other than boring things. ‘We watched TV on the flight.’ ‘We had pizza for dinner.’ ‘The hotel was nice.’”

I exhaled. “Thanks.”

“I just… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “It’s really okay. I understand.”

Osric nodded, wiping his eyes. There was silence for a moment.

“Was there something else…?” I asked.

“...Yeah.”

“Would you feel comfortable talking about it, or…?”

He paused, looking down at the bedsheets he was twisting between his fingers. “Laertes… I know you don’t like me very much, but….”

“What?!” I leaned closer, but he refused to meet my eyes. “Osric, that isn’t true—I don’t—”

“It’s okay… I know I’m just an obnoxious courtier—”

“No, you’re not.” I tilted his chin up, forcing him to make eye contact with me. “Look at me, Osric, and let me tell you the truth. Before this trip—yes, I did think you were a bit annoying. I wasn’t really looking forward to spending all this time with you. But you’ve really changed my opinion, even in just a couple hours.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Osric cast his eyes downward again. “Well… here’s the thing. You’ve probably figured this out already, but….” He paused. “I love you, Laertes.”

I exhaled slowly. “Yes… I… I figured.”

He looked at me again, his eyes sparkling with fresh tears. “And, um… are you okay with that?”

The silence was tangible; I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea what my feelings were for Osric. But right now, he just looked so helpless and lost….

_ Well, to hell with it, _ I thought.

So I cupped Osric’s face in my hands and kissed him.

And he threw his arms around my neck and kissed me back…

And honestly, it just felt so good and so right.

And when he finally drew back, his eyes were shining, and he looked so happy that my heart melted.

*

I’m not sure how long we just sat there, holding each other’s hands and smiling in complete silence. It had to be past midnight. But finally, Osric was the first one to speak.

“So, um… what are we now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… are we like, boyfriends? Or simply friends who just happened to kiss each other in the middle of the night in a hotel in Paris?”

I laughed. “I don’t know. I don’t want to label it just yet. I think we should go slowly and see what happens.”

Osric beamed. “That sounds good to me.”

There was a pause. Then I said slowly, “Osric… to be honest, I’m still not sure exactly what I feel for you. It’s a kind of affection, all right, but I don’t know how to describe it. I’m still uncertain.” I reached out a hand, gently touching his cheek. “But we’ll figure it out, together.”

“I think we will,” he whispered.


End file.
